


Start Of Something New

by for_the_love_of_wolves



Series: Hurt Meme Prompts [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Werewolf Chris Argent, Young Chris Argent, Young Peter Hale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:20:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28118361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/for_the_love_of_wolves/pseuds/for_the_love_of_wolves
Summary: While hunting alone to please his father, Chris is bitten by a rogue Alpha. He finds a safe place with the Hales.
Relationships: Chris Argent/Peter Hale
Series: Hurt Meme Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2059956
Comments: 6
Kudos: 98





	Start Of Something New

**Author's Note:**

> Written for "“just breathe… you’re okay, i promise, just breathe.”

Darkness. Deep, infinite darkness. 

He is floating in it. Floating, like a leaf in the wind. Helpless. Barely conscious. 

“Chris!” 

A voice, calling him from miles away. It cuts through the silence like a knife. He knows that voice … 

Someone touches him. A cool hand on his heated skin. It feels heavenly. “Just breathe,” the voice tells him. “You’re okay, I promise, just breathe.” 

Chris is trying. He is trying, but God, it hurts. 

Everything hurts. 

He is burning from the inside. Waves of heat shake his body. 

He vaguely notices he is being lifted and moved. Carried. The world is seesawing around him. His body feels like it is torn apart and it takes a moment for him to realize that the whining noises he hears come from himself. 

Chris slips back into the darkness. 

He doesn’t know how much time he spends there. Doesn’t know how long he’s drifting in and out of consciousness. 

There are voices around him from time to time. Quiet. Worried. Gentle, cool touches. A damp cloth on his forehead. 

Reality returns slowly, bringing pictures. Fragments of what happened. 

Chris sees himself walking through the forest, wading through knee-deep snow. His fingers numb where they are curled around the solid, comforting wood of his crossbow. Every breath hurts. Feels like ice crystals bloom in his throat. 

He remembers the growl that cut through the silence and made him freeze. _A hunter doesn’t freeze, son_ \- the voice of his father in his ear, hard and unforgiving. A wolf glared at him from between the trees. Red eyes glowing in the dark. An Alpha. Alone.

Everything happened so fast … It wasn’t like training. No. Not at all. By the time Chris managed to move again, it was already too late to avoid the wolf's fangs.

Chris remembers the sharp pain in his arm. Fire spreading through his body, darkness creeping in. Splotches of blood colouring the snow red. He thought he would die there. He would die a failure … 

Pathetic. 

Chris just wanted to prove himself. For once he wanted to see pride - appreciation - in his father’s eyes … For once, he wanted to hear praise instead of insults. But turns out, he really can't do anything right.

Chris is ripped out of his memories, when someone calls his name. He opens his eyes and blinks into the sudden light. His head hurts with the intensity of it. 

Talia Hale’s face hovers above him. “How are you feeling, Christopher?” she asks, her eyes watching him attentively. 

“Like I was hit by a truck,” Chris mutters, grimacing at the foul taste in his mouth. How long has he been out of it? 

Talia smiles. “That’s a good sign.” She hands him a glass of water from somewhere, and Chris sits up to gulp it down greedily. It feels like balm for his dry throat. 

“Let me see the wound, please,” Talia says. 

_The wound._ Chris looks at his arm. Bandages hide the … the bite. He swallows and stretches his arm out carefully. It pulses insistently, but not with too much pain.

Talia gently removes the bandages and Chris winces at the sight. The bite mark is an angry shade of red and violet. 

Talia looks at it and nods. “It’s healing nicely,” she murmurs, fetching balm and fresh bandages. 

“Healing,” Chris repeats, watching Talia work. His stomach clenches. “Am I …” The final word doesn’t want to come over his lips. 

“Turned?” Talia asks. 

Chris just nods. A lump forms in his throat. 

Talia looks at him seriously. “Yes. The Alpha that bit you, managed to turn you. We think he didn’t want to kill you. He probably wanted to make you part of a new pack. It’s been a tough transition. One of the toughest I’ve seen, to be honest. But you are out of the woods now. You should soon feel the effects though. They are going to be overwhelming at first, but you’ll get used to it,” she explains, finishing her work. 

Chris closes his eyes. He feels … numb. Utterly numb. Not able to catch a single thought. His arm pulses faintly. A steady reminder of the change his body is going through. 

Talia says something else, but he doesn’t understand her words. There is a gentle hand on his shoulder for a moment, before Talia walks out and closes the door. 

Moments pass, in which Chris just sits there in bed, his eyes closed and hands clenched into fists. 

When the door is being opened again, timidly, he opens his eyes and turns his head, grimacing at the feeling of nausea that comes with the movement. 

Peter leans in the doorframe, looking him up and down. 

Peter … It was Peter who called him, when he was floating in darkness. Did he fight the Alpha off all alone? “Hey,” Chris rasps. 

Peter swallows. “Hey.” He takes a few steps into the room, stopping in front of Chris’ bed and eyeing him nervously. “I’m sorry.” 

Chris frowns. “What?” 

Peter looks away. “I was too slow. I didn’t find you in time. When … when I heard you scream, it was already too late. The Alpha had already bitten you. Thankfully, the others weren't far behind me. It was a strong one.” 

“You were searching for me?” Chris asks, surprised. 

Peter nods. “I … had a feeling. A feeling you were in danger. You shouldn’t have been there, Chris. It was snowing like crazy and you were all alone out there, you could have …”

“I wanted to please my father,” Chris grits out. “I wanted to … I don’t know. I felt like I had to do something.” 

Peter looks at him with sadness in his eyes and Chris has to avoid his gaze.

 _Now I’m paying the prize_ , he thinks bitterly. He realizes with sudden and violent threat, what this situation really means for him. “My father. He’s going to kill me,” he breathes, his stomach clenching. “He always said so. He said, if you get bitten by a wolf, you are dead. Either the bite kills you, or … or I will kill you.” _I’m dead … I don't want to die._

Peter shakes his head, eyes flashing briefly. “No, Chris. We won’t let him hurt you. _I_ won’t let him.”

Chris feels a hint of warmth at that, but the desperation still grows. “I … I am a hunter, Peter. I have been taught to be a hunter my whole life. What am I supposed to do now? Where am I supposed to go?!” 

“Stay here. All you have to do is to accept Talia as your Alpha. You will be part of our pack, our family," Peter tells him.

“Part of your pack,” Chris repeats. A part of him wants to laugh hysterically, the other wants to cry. “Are you sure everyone is going to like the idea of an Argent, joining the Hale pack? Our families have been at war for ages. I can’t ask them to accept me in their life. In their house.” Chris lowers his head, staring at his hands folded in his lap.

Peter shakes his head. “You don't understand. Everyone has already accepted you, Chris. Because … Because you are my mate.” 

Chris looks up, surprised. “What?”

“You are my mate. That’s how everyone sees you here. Ever since you came here for dinner, ever since every member of my family smelled me on you and you on me, you’ve already been part of my family, without knowing it. Now, you changed, but you are still Chris and you are still my mate. You always will be. Werewolves mate for life."

Chris is speechless. The emotions overwhelm him, make his chest feel tight. 

Peter smiles and reaches out, putting his hand on Chris’. “We are going to help you. This doesn’t have to be the end. It can be the start of something new. You are going to see the world in a whole different way. And by the way, you can still be a hunter, if you want to. Your life doesn’t stop, just because you changed. It doesn’t have to.” 

Chris swallows heavily. He turns his hand to intertwine his fingers with Peter’s and takes a deep breath. Maybe, Peter is right. Maybe, he should try to see this as a start, not as an ending of something. 

And maybe, he should finally stop to think, he could please his father. He has almost died now, because of this urge, that never has been fulfilled. So why should he continue fighting for it?

His father doesn’t appreciate him, so what? Family don't end with blood. Here ... right here is a whole family ready to accept him. He has always felt welcome here. Talia’s words and touch have been a stark contrast to his father’s way of dealing with injuries. He calls them failures. Failures that should remind Chris to be faster next time. Failures that should be seen as shame. Failures, Chris gets hurt more for. With a belt, usually.

“You are right,” he says quietly. “My life doesn’t have to stop because I’m different now. I will try to see this as a new chapter. And … you will help me, right? Help me to be in control?” 

Peter smiles. “Sure. Though, I hope you won't mind being taught together with a gang of pups,” he adds with a chuckle. "They can be ... clingy."

Chris laughs. “I am glad to be alive,” he says quietly. Peter makes a soft noise and leans forward, kissing him. Chris kisses him back. 

When they part, something is different. Chris’ eyes widen in surprise. His breath hitches. He tilts his head to listen.

Peter looks at him, frowning. “What is it?” 

Chris laughs and says, “I can hear your heartbeat. It’s fast.” 

Peter chuckles. “Want to make it faster?” 

Chris just reaches for him. 


End file.
